12/27/2019 basketball Edit

John Wall Holiday Invitational has exciting Friday slate

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

The second day of action for the John Wall Holiday Invitational features some of the elite teams from outside the region, such as The Patrick School in Newark, N.J., Montverde (Fla.) Academy and Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Ariz.

NC State senior power forward commit Nick Farrar of Apex (N.C.) Friendship will take center stage against powerhouse The Patrick School, which has No. 1 ranked junior forward Jonathan Kuminga.

Read below for the preview of Friday's schedule:

NC State senior power forward signee Nick Farrar of Apex (N.C.) Friendship plays Friday at 5:15 p.m. (Rivals.com)

11 a.m.: Wake Forest Heritage vs. Raleigh Grace Christian

The third-place game for the Kyran Bowman bracket, Heritage fell 59-50 to The Burlington School on Thursday. Junior forward Redford Dunton had 19 points and six rebounds, and junior wing Lucas Taylor had 17 points, but struggled with his trusty jumper, going 2 of 8 on three-pointers.

Grace Christian got crushed 84-51 on Thursday, and only had one player in double digits. Wake Forest center signee Jaylon Gibson had eight points and five rebounds in 19:09, but only had four shot attempts.

12:30 p.m.: Raleigh Leesville Road vs. Holly Springs

Holly Springs battled Raleigh Word of God, but fell 57-49 and will play Raleigh Leesville Road in the T.J. Warren consolation bracket. Georgia State power forward signee Kaleb Scott led Holly Springs with a game-high 22 points, plus five rebounds.

Junior point guard Carter Whitt had 12 points in a 80-68 loss to Jackson (Miss.) Calloway, but was ejected midway through the third quarter. Barring a change in the NCHSAA rules, he’s expected to miss the next two games as a result.

2 p.m.: The Burlington School vs. Garner High

The Kyran Bowman title game has one of the top public schools in North Carolina going against an elite private school.

The Burlington School has won three NCISAA 1A state titles since 2015. Rice center signee Mylyjael Poteat had 20 points and 16 rebounds, and Wichita State small forward signee JaDun Michael added 19 points and went 3 of 4 on three-pointers in a 59-50 win over Wake Forest Heritage on Thursday. Junior center Kuluel Mading also returned to action and had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Garner sophomore forward Asa White, who is 6-7, had 13 points and five rebounds, and shot 6 of 14 from the field in a 84-51 win over Raleigh Grace Christian.

3:45 p.m.: Lincolnton Combine Academy vs. Phoenix (Ariz.) Hillcrest Prep

Combine Academy plays hard, but it will be hard for them to handle the size of Hillcrest Prep. However, Combine Academy did upset Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy in November, which is the alma mater of head coach Jeff McInnis, who played at North Carolina and in the NBA. Sophomore point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino is ranked No. 17 overall in the class of 2022 by Rivals.com. Freshman shooting guard Robert Dillingham and freshman power forward Mekhi Grant have bright futures.

No. 8-ranked Makur Maker arrived to Hillcrest Prep last week, and he is eligible for the upcoming NBA Draft. Senior point guard Dalen Terry is ranked No. 31 and signed with Arizona, and senior shooting guard Puff Johnson is ranked No. 44 and headed to North Carolina. Junior power forward Michael Foster is ranked No. 6 in the class of 2021 and junior small forward Keon Edwards is at No. 22 in the country. Sophomore center Sadraque Nganga is ranked No. 16 in the class of 2022.

5:15 p.m.: Apex Friendship vs. Newark (N.J.) The Patrick School

Apex Friendship and NC State senior power forward signee Nick Farrar have never played anything like The Patrick School, which is a traditional power year-in, year-out. Farrar will have a huge stage to showcase his inside-out, hustling game. It looked like Farrar wasn’t going to get to chance to face Rivals.com No. 1-ranked junior Jonathan Kuminga, but he was ruled eligible Monday. Kuminga has the likes of Duke and Kentucky facing him, but plays along the perimeter at 6-7. Farrar might not match up with him exclusively.

7 p.m.: Durham Academy vs. Montverde (Fla.) Academy

Durham Academy sophomore wing M.J. Rice has never faced anything like Montverde Academy. The talented 6-5, 200-pound Rice is ranked No. 11 in the country in the class of 2022 by Rivals.com, but he’ll be facing a squad full of high major prospects, plus two of his sophomore peers in small forward Dariq Whitehead, who is ranked No. 5 in 2022, and No. 21-ranked small forward Caleb Houstan.

No. 2-ranked senior point guard Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State), No. 9-ranked forward Scottie Barnes (Florida State), No. 13-ranked Day'Ron Sharpe (North Carolina), No. 51-ranked Moses Moody (Arkansas) and No. 59 ranked Zeb Jackson (Michigan) lead the way. Add in two previously mentioned ranked sophomores, plus two ranked juniors and Montverde is loaded. Junior shooting guard Langston Love is ranked No. 27, and junior point guard Ryan Nembhard is ranked No. 56 in the class of 2021.

8:30 p.m.: Jackson (Miss.) Calloway vs. Raleigh Word of God

There should be plenty of points scored and highlight dunks in this one. Calloway junior point guard Daeshun Ruffin had 30 points and three other players cracked double figures in a 80-68 win over Raleigh Leesville Road. Ruffin is ranked No. 36 overall in the class of 2021 by Rivals.com.

Michigan verbal commit Isaiah Todd had 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocks to lead Word of God to a 57-49 win over Holly Springs on Thursday. The 6-9 Todd is ranked No. 10 overall in the country in the class of 2020. Athletic wings Chase Forte and Quandre Bullock both play above the rim for the Holy Rams.